William Levy Bounces Back, Overcomes Injury To Impress On β€œDancing”

Maria Menounos called "sellout" after ballroom kiss

Despite a request from the doctor to rest his injuries, "Dancing with the Stars" fan favorite William Levy returned to the ballroom on Monday night, with a pulse-quickening Argentine tango to heat up Latin night.

William took to the ballroom with professional partner Cheryl Burke for a passionate number, mixed with drama, rhythm and the kind of technique that left judge Carrie Ann Inaba shaken and stirred.

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"I'm gathering myself," she said, struggling for words. "That was ridiculously amazing. You are so convincing, all I could think of was, 'The Latin dancing James Bond is in the house!'" she screamed, after the number, which earned the pair 29 out of 30 (10s from Carrie Ann and Bruno Tonioli).

It wasn't until after the dance – and not in the package footage – that William's injury was even discussed. Co-host Brooke Burke brought it up, asking about his hurt ankle, and what the doctor said after giving the star an MRI earlier in the day.

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"He said my ligament was ripped up… 'You need to rest.' But, I said to him that tonightwas no resting," William told Brooke, brushing aside talk of his condition.

William's triumphant ballroom feat wasn't the only stunning performance of the night. Also returning to their former ballroom glory β€” and tying William and Cheryl for the top on the leaderboard β€” were Katherine Jenkins and Mark Ballas, who earned 29 out of 30 for their artistic and impressive Argentine tango.

After a standing ovation from the crowd, the duo found out they had wowed notoriously tough judge Len Goodman.

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"This, for me, was like a rose. It had beauty, but underneath the surface is the thorn – sharp, menacing. It was bittersweet. Well done," he said, impressed by their creative moves.

Carrie Ann had even loftier praise, claiming Katherine showed off lower body movement that put her in a different league.

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"You came out and you did that first lunge – it was perfection. Your legs are the best legs I've ever seen of any contestant in all the history of 'Dancing with the Stars,'" she raved.

A tie for third was where NFL star Donald Driver and partner Peta Murgatroyd landed with Maria Menounos and Derek Hough. Maria and Derek might have had a better score, but the two, who teased at a kiss earlier in the season, smooched this week on the dance floor during their salsa, a move that Carrie Ann cited them for.

"I don't think you needed the kiss. I think that was a sell-out. Dancing's about the illusion of passion. Don't go all at it… save it for back there," she said.

On Tuesday, the two couples with the lowest combined scores will dance for the judges, who will decide which pair gets sent home.

The leaderboard for April 16 was:

Katherine Jenkins and Mark Ballas tackled the Argentine tango and were scored 29/30

William Levy and Cheryl Burke performed the Argentine tango and earned 29/30

Donald Driver and Peta Murgatroyd performed the Argentine tango and earned 27/30

Maria Menounos and Derek Hough performed the salsa and took home 27/30

Roshon Fegan and Chelsie Hightower tried the salsa and earned 26/30

Jaleel White and Kym Johnson performed the samba and earned 24/30

Gladys Knight and Tristan MacManus performed the samba and earned 22/30

Melissa Gilbert and Maksim Chmerkovskiy danced the salsa and earned 21/30

Gavin DeGraw and Karina Smirnoff tried the samba and were scored 19/30

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